STALINGRAD
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Producer. CCS Author: Ken Wright Price: £9.95
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I 3th talingrad is the latest game by wargaming's only current 31 ,: l?t»i • St* prolific writer. Ken Wright It — \ takes up the often-documented run Run l?th campaign on the Eastern Front I — in the Spring of 1942, when Field Marshal RUN Kill l?th 17th | \Blh Von Bock led the Gentian Army Group ij south, into a drive to capture Stalingrad nun Run The war on the Eastern Front had been r ty draining the resources of both armies and. by this stage, It was no longer possible to keep up operations along its extent. Both sides decided to concentrate on the southern sector. game. Statistics are thin on the ground and all the player does to Issue orders Is The capture of Stalingrad was intended only to be a stage on the inwards move units in blocks of three and choose A A bird's-eye view of the assault on Stalingrad between a handful ol generalised attack sweep towards the centre of Russia careful reading ol the roles and are indicated onscreen. There is certainly around Moscow. In reality, it proved to be options. It's a deliberate attempt to background is strongly advised as a something to be said for concentrating on emphasise the gameplay itself, rather an intractable objective and the whole preliminary. There are a lew Important making the screen map sell-sufficient than distract with superfluous details and additions to the system, and, as usual, Russian campaign foundered on it. and attractive. hinder with difficult order systems. It's necessary to bring both knowledge The game gives the (Mayer command There are seven different type of and Imagination to get the most ol seven German armies, most consisting The system is essentially the same as terrain, which cany their own movement atmosphere out of the onscreen cost and advantage or disadvantage lor of six units. It is set firmly in the mould of that seen In Ken Wright's previous two abstractions. the author's previous games {Yankee, campaign games. Blitzkrieg and attacker or defender. Unfortunately you Blitzkrieg. Overlordi, with an increasingOverlord. Wargamers who own either will The screen map is as attractive as it's can't exploit these to the full as it's too trend to what might be called 'system find no surprises in Stalingrad and may ble for a computer 'board' map to difficult to predict where any unit Is going minimalism'; there is no need to take a be tempted to start playing as soon as the to end up after a movemeni phase, and Terrain Is neatly and clearly degree course in the operation of the game finishes loading. However, a differentiated, and the names ol towns the decision about whether or not to
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This month's Frontline Forum looks at a major dilema facing every Spectrum wargamer. Can the Spectrum still hold Its own when It comes to large and complex strategy games? With the growing popularity of the 16-bit machines are 8-blt computers still the way forward?
FORUM CRASH August 1988 101
Dear Philippa Thanks for publishing my letter (in Issue 51). I'm sorry If it reads as rather harsh on you but I had just finished playing the game m question and I was not in a good mood. Recently. I bought a Commodore 64 and disk drive because although the Spectrum can hold its own In arcade games, the strategy games are rather limited, and having visited a Commodore owning fnend and seeing the war/ strategy games that he had, I was converted. I have got a copy of the Strategic Plus catalogue and the range of games is mtndboggling compared to the Spectrum. i would advise any Spectrum wargamer to invest in a Commodore as well if he really wants to get to grips with his hobby. So henceforth I shall be
reading your column in ZZAP! 64. David Ell Ingham, Stockton, Cleveland Sadly. I have to agree with you. In my opinion the Spectrum is unbeatable lor sophisticated made and arcade adventure games, and has had much more Imagination poured into its 48K confines than the flashy, Americanised Commodore will ever have. But quality and quantity of strategic releases available for the Commodore far outstrip the Spectrum selection, not only wargames, but fantasy role-playing games also benefit from the luxury of disk access. However, disk drives are expensive, so are those glossy American games That. I suspect, is the main obstacle in the path of many Spectwmowning wargaming enthusiasts.
PI